After you provide a urine sample, it is tested. The health care provider uses a dipstick made with a color-sensitive pad. The color the dipstick changes to tells the provider the level of protein in your urine.

Different medicines can change the result of this test. Before the test, tell your health care provider which medications you are taking. Do not stop taking any medicine before talking to your provider.

Dye (contrast media) if you have a radiology scan within 3 days before the urine test

Strenuous exercise

Urinary tract infection

Urine contaminated with fluids from the vagina

How the Test will Feel:

The test only involves normal urination. There is no discomfort.

Why the Test is Performed:

This test is most often done when your health care provider suspects you have kidney disease. It may be used as a screening test.

Normally, although a small amounts of protein are in urine, they are not detected when a routine dipstick test is performed. This is because the kidney is supposed to keep most proteins in the blood.

If the kidney is diseased, proteins appear in the urine, even if blood protein levels are normal.

Normal Results:

For a random urine sample, normal values are approximately 0 to 8 mg/dL.

For a 24-hour urine collection, the normal value is less than 80 mg per 24 hours.

The examples above are common measurements for results of these tests. Normal value ranges may vary slightly among different laboratories. Some labs use different measurements or test different samples. Talk to your doctor about the meaning of your specific test results.

What Abnormal Results Mean:

Small increases in urine protein levels are usually not a cause for concern.

Review Date: 8/20/2013
Reviewed By: David C. Dugdale, III, MD, Professor of Medicine, Division of General Medicine, Department of Medicine, University of Washington School of Medicine. Also reviewed by David Zieve, MD, MHA, Bethanne Black, and the A.D.A.M. Editorial team.

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